Tag Archives: Rock and Roll Monster Bash

2009 In Retrospect

By Ed Selby | Published December 31, 2009

As I started writing this entry, I was thinking that 2009 was a “meh” year for me photographically. But as I wrote it, I realized that 2009 was a pretty good year for me. I did not accomplish the goals I set for myself this time last year, but it was a good year all the same.

The bulk of the year was spent finishing the basement which included my beautiful wife’s art studio, our still in disarray tiki/beach bar, and my photography studio. All of the destruction, construction, and cleaning meant not much of a chance to do as much photography as I would have liked. I did get some good shoots in, however, and I really shouldn’t complain to much. After all, I now have my own mostly finished studio space (I say “mostly finished” because no studio is ever truly finished) with plenty of room for shooting everything from family portraits to artistic figure work to product photography.

I did some travel (which I love), and went to San Diego, Albuquerque, vacation in Florida where I worked with two swimsuit models on the beach (you can’t do much of that in North Georgia), a paid trip to Myrtle Beach to photograph a hotel for the day job, and a weekend nature photography trip to the Smoky Mountains with good friends.

On very short notice, I organized the very successful model shoot out for the annual Rock and Roll Monster Bash at the Starlight Drive In in Atlanta – a feat that also put me in touch with a number of people I only knew from the internet as well as helped to get my name out to the alt model world (I loves me some tattooed models!). I also continued and strengthened my relationship with the Atlanta Roller Girls and became their official official photographer for the latter part of the 2009 season and the upcoming 2010 season. My relationship with the Atlanta Roller Girls directly led to me doing a piece on the Austin, TX band And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead for Prick Magazine – on line and in print – in 2009, too.

I ended 2009 working with the first Help Portrait project, a few shoots for my personal projects, a big group and individual portrait shoot for an international company, and some great shots of my family at Christmas. All in all, 2009 was a pretty good year for my camera and me.

As I look into 2010, I already have five shoots booked for January, including a repeat shoot with the beautiful Amy Frena before she heads off to sunny southern California to pursue her modeling career, two personal project shoots, a client product shoot, and the first shoot as the official official photographer for the Atlanta Roller Girls.

2009 did not suck, and 2010 will only get better!

***The pretty girl at the top is Amy Frena. She was one of my last pretty girl shoots of 2009, and will be my first pretty girl shoot of 2010.

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Getting back into it…

By Ed Selby | Published June 30, 2009

More Atlanta Roller Girls here

I said I was going to blog more, and, judging from the lack of words on this page, I obviously haven’t been doing that.

Let’s give it a “half year gone” retry.

I haven’t been shooting a lot of pretty girls of late. In fact, it has been more than a month since I had my last in studio photo shoot. I organized and oversaw this year’s model shoot at the annual Rock and Roll Monster Bash, but I was too busy organizing to shoot. I seriously only fired off about a dozen shots of the pretty girls we had there. I have, however, taken pride in seeing the level of excellent work that came out of what I put together in less than three weeks.

I have been shooting roller derby every month for the Atlanta Roller Girls as their official photographer. I unknowingly stepped into the shoes of the much loved and respected Frank Mullen who died early this year. I regret that I never got to know Frank because by all accounts he was a friendly, kind, and overall Good Guy. I have made it my mission to photograph the Atlanta Roller Girls with as much love and affection as Frank did. I think I have been successful at that.

Back to the pretty girl shooting. I confess to be bored with and critical of the girls who have signed up on Model Mayhem, the free on-line talent source so many people use. Most of the girls are “pretty”, but I want something different, something unique, something fun.

I guess I’m just missing out on the “fun” part of shooting pretty girls. So many of them on-line have a delusion of becoming a Model, and aren’t in it to have fun, to be creative. I do get one or two of those from time to time, but rarely for more than a few shoots – then they’re off to somewhere else, or I can’t think outside of my own box to come up with something interesting to shoot.

It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, I guess.

My other goal? Making $5000 with my camera this year? Um, yeah, about that. Let’s just say that I am even less creative with business plans as I have been with my camera.

My wife and I talked about this. I think we both share the same fear. I’m too afraid that I won’t achieve my goal, that I’ll be turned down and rejected, to even try to achieve my goal. It is less of an ego burn to not even try to be successful. How’s that for pitiful?

I haven’t even been able to get a new website designed because I keep looking at my photos and saying, “These aren’t good enough to bring in business.” Then I see hacks and amateurs making damn good money shooting family and senior portraits just because they have more charm than I.

Okay – enough wallowing. I have to get to bed now. Tomorrow is another day……

The picture – Atlanta Roller Girls Rumble B’s vs. Fayetteville Rouge Rollers. Look at the face of determination on that girl in gray. I need that face every day.

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